Display stand



1953 F. w. ANDREWS 2,649,969

DISPLAY STAND Filed July 12, 1950 IN VEN TOR.

FRED W AN'F) REZWS. WMfM ATTORNEKS. I

Aug. 25, 1953 F. w. ANDREWS 2,549,969

DISPLAY STAND Filed July 12, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FREDWANDREWS.

BYW'MM M ATTORNEKS Patented Aug. 25, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Fred Andrews, Dover, DeL, assignor to International Latex Corporation,-.Dover, Del., a-corporation of Delaware Application July 12, 1950;seria1No. 173,410

3 Claims. 1 This invention relates to a combined advertising andvending device and more particularly to a display stand which will hold articles to be advertised or sold in a pleasing. tiered relationship.

It is often necessary" to display articles which are-long with respect to their girth and hence which are mechanically unstable. Such articles must be given lateral support to prevent tipping, andcertain prior art solutions have employed comparativel deep, closed wall receptacles for this purpose. Also, when alarge number of such articles are displayed, it is desi-rable that they be displayed so that atleast a portion of the printed information appearing thereon can be read and so that they present ai -appearance that is pleasinglto the eye. Since such display stands form a prominent part of merchandise display, their attractive appearance initially and during use is of paramount importance. Their initial cost is also of considerable moment.

It is. an object of this inventionto provide a new and improved vending. and display device which'is light. in weight and durable; and which is simple and economical. to manufacture.-

Another object of the invention is to provide'a multiple unit display stand which may be readily assembled and in which the assembled units are held in a desired relationshipto each other.

The display stand of this invention comprises a first member having a plurality of tiers and a second member also havi'nga pluralityof tiers mounted beneath the first member.

andthe tiers of the second member are-vertically aligned with the tiers of the first member to provide support for articles inserted through the ap'ertures'in the tiers of the first member.

The invention includes the novel features, arrangements' and combination of parts embodied, by way of example, in the device" hereinafter described as illustrating a preferred formof the invention and the invention will be more particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

The invention may be more readily understood by considering the detailed description given below in connection. with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig.1 is a top plan view of the preferred form of the invention;

Fig. v2 is aside elevation view'of the embodiment. shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial view of the top of the em'-' bodiment shown inFig. 1 which shows the con-- struction of'the'device of the invention in greater detail;

Fig. 4 is a partial cross section. of the device shown in Fig. 1; and

Figs; 5 and 6 show sections taken alongv'the lines indicated in Fig. 4.

The tiers. of the first member "have apertures in the tiers.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the preferred embodiment includes two-tiered members I and 2, one nested within axial with the apertures in member I when the units or members are assembled, as shown.

In use, cylindrical articles, such as the article 5 shown in dotted lines in- Fig. 2, are inserted.

intheaperturesin theface II ofv member I. The diameters of the apertures 3 .are of such a size that they exceed the diameter of the cylindrical articles by onlya small amount. The diameter of the apertures 4 is smaller than the diameter of the article 5 so that the base of the article will rest on the face I8 of a tier of member 2.

Although the apertures in the members I and 2 'havebeen shown as circular, it will be understood that. the apertures may be of any other shape and preferably the apertures in the member I. are of such a shape that they follow the contour of the articles to be displayed. The aperture's' iniany particular device may all be of the same shape or may have different shapes. Also, the members I and 2 may have shapes other than the "circular shapes shown. For example, they may be triangular, square, rectangular, pentagonal, etc., the tiers in each type of construction being re-entrant so as to form a continuous, encircling display area.

The'apertures' 4 in the member 2 are provided in the preferred embodiment of the invention so that the device will be light in weight and to reduce theamount of m'aterialrequired. If desiredfthe-tiers of nrember 2 may be constructed poseof displaying advertising material or for holdingrprice cardsor tags.

Referring now to Figs. 3' and 4which show the details of the construction of the members I and 2,, it will be seen. that each member has a plurality of aligned tiers, the tiers of member 2 commencing at a smaller radius than the tiers'o-f member I. The member 2 is mounted under the member I and is held in alignment with member I by the annular rim I. This rim may, as shown in Fig. 3, be provided with one or more projections or tongues, such as tongue 8. This tongue 8 engages with a slot in the body of member I and assists in aligning the apertures of member 2 with the apertures of member I, as well as prevents rotation of member 2 with respect to member I after the unit has been assembled.

Although in the embodiment shown, the member 2 is held in fixed relation with respect to member I by means of the annular rim 1, these members may be held in the desired relationship by insertion of a pin or shaft in the central apertures 9 and I shown in Fig. 4. Such a pin or shaft may have a key or projection thereon and the apertures 3 and I0 may be slotted as shown at 5 to receive the key or projection.

Projection I8 is provided to assist in maintaining the proper spacing of members I and 2 and to aid in supporting the top portion of member I. This projection is made of a length sufficient to permit it to rest on the top face of member 2.

To provide a more pleasing appearance, each aperture in the member I is partially surrounded by a semi-cylindrical wall II which extends for the full height of a tier. Due to the fact that the member 2 is substantially hidden, it is not necessary to provide similar walls around the apertures 1'. but they may be provided, if desired.

Because the outer member I may be subject to strain and to provide a more rigid structure, webs of the type illustrated at I2 and I3 are provided at the corners of each tier of the outer member I between each of the apertures in a tier and as inwardly extending continuations at the junctures of adjacent semi-cylindrical walls II.

The slot 6 is shown in greater detail in Fig. 4 and includes a wall I4 spaced from the wall II but joined to wall II at the bottom portion I9 for receiving advertising or price indicating material.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the members I and 2 are constructed of plastic, such as polystyrene, and the walls and tiers of the members I and 2 are of substantially uniform thickness to facilitate molding and eliminate unequal stresses, as well as to reduce the weight and cost of material required.

Having thus described my invention with particular reference to the preferred form thereof and having shown and described certain modifications, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, after understanding my invention, that various changes and other modifications may-be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A display stand comprising a first member having a plurality of re-entrant tiers of difierent sizes spaced above each other, each tier having upper and lower faces and at least one aperture therein extending therethrough, and a second member having a plurality of reentrant tiers of sizes corresponding with the tiers of said first member and spaced above each other, said tiers of said second member having upper faces which are substantially parallel with the upper faces of the tiers of corresponding size of said first member and said second member being mounted beneath said first member with all said tiers of the second member beneath and aligned with the tiers of corresponding size of said first member in a direction perpendicular to the upper faces of said tiers and the upper faces of the tiers of said second member being spaced in said direction from the lower faces of the tiers of corresponding size of said first member.

2. A display stand comprising a first member having a plurality of re-entrant tiers of different sizes spaced above each other and having substantially horizontal upper and lower faces, each tier being connected to the next adjacent tier by a substantially vertical re-entrant wall and each tier having a plurality of apertures therein extending therethrough, and a second member having a plurality of re-entrant tiers of sizes corresponding with the tiers of said first member and spaced above each other, said tiers of said second member having substantially horizontal upper faces and being connected together by substantially vertical re-entrant walls, said second member being mounted beneath said first member with all said tiers of the second member beneath and vertically aligned with the tiers of corresponding size of said first member and the upper faces of the tiers of said second member being vertically spaced from the lower faces of the tiers of corresponding size of said first member.

3. A display stand comprising a first member having a plurality of re-entrant tiers of different sizes with the tiers of smaller size spaced above the tiers of larger size, each tier having upper and lower faces and a plurality of apertures therein extending therethrough and said tiers being connected together by re-entrant walls, said tiers and walls being of substantially the same thickness throughout, and a second member having a plurality of re-entrant tiers of sizes corresponding with the tiers of said first member, said second member having its tiers of smaller size spaced above its tiers of larger size and each tier of said second member having an upper face and a plurality of apertures therein of a size smaller than the size of the apertures in the tiers of said first member, said tiers of said second member being connected together by reentrant walls, said last-mentioned tiers and walls being of substantially the same thickness throughout, said second member being mounted beneath said first member with all said tiers of the second member beneath and vertically aligned with the tiers of corresponding size of said first member and the upper faces of the tiers of said second member being vertically spaced from the lower faces of the tiers of corresponding size of said first member.

FRED W. ANDREWS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 121,485 Spanel July 16, 1940 361,652 Somers Apr. 19, 1887 1,893,594 Oestreich Jan. 10, 1933 1,972,519 Hasenour Sept. 4, 1934 2,318,081 Kerry May 4, 1943 2,327,631 Fibus Aug. 24, 1943 2,496,758 Tingley Feb. 7, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 5,543 Great Britain 1889 234,195 Great Britain May 28, 1925 

